- Health CS Deborah Barasa deleted a resurfaced 2012 tweet criticizing the government for failing to pay medical interns.
- The tweet re-emerged after she announced a pay cut for medical interns from KSh206,000 to KSh70,000.
- Doctors and social media users criticized her decision, accusing her of ignoring the struggles she once faced.
- The tweet, posted when she was a medical intern, expressed frustration over poor remuneration.
Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa has come under fire after an old tweet from 2012 resurfaced, showing her criticizing the government for failing to pay medical interns.
At the time, Barasa was a medical intern and expressed frustration over low or unpaid stipends.
“Ukoloni mamboleo is not paying postgraduate students a coin when they dedicate their time and energy to a hospital. Tutakula nini jamaneni?” she wrote on October 4, 2012.
Her tweet re-emerged just a day after she announced a major cut in medical interns’ monthly stipends, reducing them from KSh206,000 to KSh70,000.
Backlash from Doctors and Social Media
Barasa’s announcement triggered outrage, with many doctors and social media users calling her out for hypocrisy. Critics pointed out that she once experienced the same struggles but is now enforcing the same hardships on current interns.
Amid the backlash, the CS deleted the old tweet, but screenshots of it have continued circulating online, fueling further criticism.
Her decision has intensified debates about government policies on medical intern remuneration, with doctors demanding reconsideration of the pay cut.
